Dom people

The Dom (also called Domi; Arabic: دومي / ALA-LC: Dūmī, دومري / Dūmrī, Ḍom / ضوم or دوم, or sometimes also called Doms) are a people with origins in the Indian subcontinent which through ancient migrations are found scattered across Western Asia, North Africa, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Eastern Anatolia Region, and parts of the Indian subcontinent. The traditional language of the Dom is Domari, an endangered Indo-Aryan language, thereby making the Dom an Indo-Aryan ethnic group. They have been associated with other traditionally itinerant ethnic groups, called the Rom/Roma/Romani people and Lom people: the three groups have been said to have separated from each other or, at least, to share a similar history. Specifically, the ancestors of the Dom, the Domba left the Indian subcontinent sometime between late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.

"Doms (people)" redirects here. For a Bengali Hindu caste, see Doms.
Dom
Total population
2.2 million (estimated)
Regions with significant populations
Middle East, North Africa
Languages
Domari, Persian, Arabic (also various dialects), Azeri, Kurdish, Turkish, Pushtu, Syriac, Hebrew
Religion
Romani religion, Islam, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Romani people, Lom people, Domba, Kalbelia, other Indo-Aryans
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Culture

The Dom have an oral tradition and express their culture and history through music, poetry and dance. Initially, it was believed that they were a branch of the Romani people, but recent studies of the Domari language suggest that they departed from the Indian subcontinent[1] later than the Romani, probably around the 6th century.[2]

The word Dom are used to describe peoples who remained in Persia and Eastern Anatolia Region/Turkey.[3]

In Morocco, Sidi Mimoun and Ben Souda groups are among the most known Moroccan Roma groups, they are known with their singing and music.[4]

Among the various Domari subgroups, they were initial part of Ghawazi (Al Ghawazi- Al Ghagar) whom were known for their dancing and music business. The Ghawazi dancers as have been associated with the development of their own dancing reputation under the rule of Muhammad Ali Pasha.

Distribution

The majority of the estimated population of 2.2 million live in Iran, Eastern Anatolia Region in Turkey, Syria and with significant numbers in Iraq. Smaller populations are found in Afghanistan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and other countries of the Middle East and North Africa.[5]

The actual population is unknown as some Dom are excluded from national censuses and others label themselves in national terms rather than as Dom. Nowadays, they speak the dominant languages of their larger societies, but Domari, their national language, continues to be spoken by more insular communities. Iranians called them gurbati or kouli, the former meaning "poor" and the latter meaning "foreigners".[6]

There is a large concentration of Dom in Jordan. Researchers have written that "they accommodate Arab racism by hiding their ethnic identity", since they would not be accepted into Arabian society once their true identity is revealed. In Jordan, they call themselves Bani Murra.[7]

See also

References
  1. Matras, Yaron (December 2012). "Domari". [romani] project. School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures The University of Manchester. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  2. Ian Hancock (2007–2008). "On Romani Origins and Identity". RADOC. RADOC The Romani Archives and Documentation Center, The University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  3. Donald Kenrick (2004). Gypsies: From the Ganges to the Thames. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. pp. 24–. ISBN 978-1-902806-23-5. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  4. Groupe Sidi Mimoun et Groupe Ben Souda, retrieved 25 September 2021
  5. Scull, J. C. (June 17, 2020). "The History of the Gypsies". Medium.
  6. "PanARMENIAN.Net - Mobile". www.panarmenian.net.
  7. Marsh, Adrian & Strand, Elin (red.) (2006). Gypsies and the problem of identities: contextual, constructed and contested. Istanbul: Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (Svenska forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul), p. 207


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